Pope Francis sets new tone in remarks about gays: Editorial

The pope is attempting to foster a climate of tolerance and compassion in the Vatican hierarchy.

Pope Francis salutes as he arrives at the Chiesa Del Gesu' in Rome on July 31, 2013. The Pontiff celebrates a mass for St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesuits.ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images

It’s a simple statement, passive in construction: “A gay person who is seeking God, who is of good will — well, who am I to judge him?”

Because Pope Francis uttered those words, the world sat up and took notice. He made his comments while talking informally with reporters on the plane ride back from his trip to Brazil. A reporter had asked about the “gay lobby,” homosexual priests in the Vatican who, it is rumored, expose the church to blackmail.

Pope Francis managed a little banter: “I have yet to find on a Vatican identity card the word ‘gay.’ ” he joked. Lobbies are not good, he said, and went on to make the statement that Vatican watchers have been parsing ever since. Gays should not be marginalized, he added.

Yes, it’s nice to have a pope who can speak off the cuff, and whose informal style has charmed the world. He used the colloquial “gay,” indicating he’s not going to wear blinders to the 21st century world outside the gates of the Holy City.

Just don’t expect the church to embrace those changes. The Catholic Church still considers homosexuality a sin, and has no place for women among the clergy. Celibacy is required in the priesthood for the foreseeable future. Francis did call for “mercy” for divorced Catholics who are barred from receiving Communion unless they have an annulment.

His remarks about gays are really nothing new, and are perfectly in line with the old Catholic bromide of “hate the sin, love the sinner.” For priests who are gay, it is likely a comfort to hear that the pope will not demonize them and is attempting to foster a climate of tolerance and compassion in the Vatican hierarchy. For those outside the priesthood who want the chance to build relationships and families like the rest of us, it’s no comfort at all.

That being said, the pope’s remarks are a welcome change in tone from the more rigid rhetoric of Benedict XVI, who called homosexuality “one of the miseries of the church,” and incompatible with the priesthood.

Perhaps Benedict never met Mychal Judge, the Franciscan friar and chaplain of the New York City Fire Department, who was gay and who died in the rubble of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, administering to his dying flock. It is no stretch to say that Francis’ conciliatory words would have meant something to him, had he lived to hear them.